Means for an eye-link for chains



Nov. 1, 1966 Y. THELAN MEANS FOR AN EYE-LINK FOR CHAINS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 6, 1964 Nov. 1, 1966 Y. THELAN 3,282,045

MEANS FOR AN EYE-LINK FOR CHAINS Filed March 6, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 1, 1966 Y. THELAN MEANS FOR AN EYE-LINK FOR CHAINS 3 Sheets-5heet 5 Filed March 6, 1964 United States Patent 3,282,045 MEANS FOR AN EYE-LINK FOR CHAINS Yves The'lan, IS'Rue Theophile Lambert, Grand Couronne, France Filed Mar. 6, 1964, Ser. No. 350,055 Claims priority, application France, Mar. 9, 1963, 927,573, Patent 1,351,086; July 31, 1963, 943,247 3 Claims. (Cl. 59-93) The subject of the present invention is an eye-link for chains'which enables the latter to be fixed in place without the need for hooks or shackles, simply by means of trapping the links.

To this end, the chain anchor bar carries (or has welded to it) an eye-link, waisted to form two diiferent diameter loops one of which is larger in diameter than the width of the chain links whilst the diameter of the other is smalled than the said width, and the waisted portion leaving a gap slightly greater than the link thickness. In this way, it is possible to slip the chain through the large loop of the eye up to the desired link, this link then being turned and slipped between the two sides of the waisted portion so that the preceding link, the width of which is greater than the diameter of the smaller loop, rests on the upper face of said loop, supporting the weight of the hanging chain and holding firm when any strain is applied.

In another embodiment, the arms of the waisted portion are provided on their upper sides with two claws or fingers bent back towards the lower part, and against these abuts the link connected immediately above the narrower loop of the eye.

In another embodiment, a thin elastic strip, matched in shape to the larger loop of the eye-link, is placed on top of the latter loop, the total thickness of the strip and the loop being slightly larger than the distance between the ends of two separate chain links when at the full stretch permitted by the intervening link; the result of this is to exert a pressure on the links which forces them to look in place above the narrower loop. The larger and smaller loops can both be in the same plane or can be disposed at 90 to one another.

Finally, the eye-link attachment may be produced in the form of a chain-tightener linking separate chains. Taking eye-links in which the loops are disposed at 90 to one another, all that is necessary is to provide threaded bosses and mating bolts in order to establish an adjustable connection between two chains each of which is anchored to one of the eye-links proposed in accordance with the invention.

In the attached drawings, various embodiments and applications of the invention are portrayed.

FIGURES l, 2 and 3 show plan, side elevational and front elevational views respectively of an eye-link attached to an anchoring rod;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of the eye-link of FIGURE 1, illustrating how the chain is lowered through it and how it locks in place;

FIGURE 5 is a section taken on the line VV of FIG- URE 4, in a vertical plane;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective View of an eye-link in which locking elements in the form of two claws are provided;

FIGURES 7 and 8 are elevational and plan views respectively of this same eye-link, with a chain attached;

FIGURES 9 and 10 are elevational and plan views respectively of an eye-link in which locking is achieved using an elastic strip;

FIGURES 11 and 12 are elevational and plan views of an eye-link provided with a shackle;

FIGURES l3 and 14 are plan views of chain-adjusters in accordance with the fifth and sixth embodiments of the invention.

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In FIGURES 1 and 2, the anchoring rod 1 is welded at 2 to a mounting plate 3; it is likewise attached to an eyelink 4 comprising three main parts. 4a is a circular portion the internal diameter of which is greater than the width of the link 5 of the chain A, 4b is likewise a circular portion the internal diameter of which is less than the width of the said link 5 and 4c is a waisted portion the width of which is greater than the diameter 6 of the said link.

It is not difficult to see (FIGURES 4 and 5) that it So is the link which is to be locked by the eye-link 4, all that is necessary is to allow the chain to pass through the open space in the portion 4a, to slide the link 5b between the arms of the waisted portion 4c and to rest the link 5a on the part 4b. Under the weight of the chain or under the effect of a vertical tension applied to it, the link 5a is locked firmly in place.

In the second embodiment depicted in FIGURES 6, 7 and 8, claws 7 with hooked ends 8 are attached to the eyelink 4, the open side of the hook facing towards the smaller diameter section 4b, in such a manner that the end 9 of the link 5a concerned abuts the base 10 of the hook when the chain A is pulled towards the side 4:: of the eye-link and cannot escape to the part 4b if the chain is pulled in the opposite direction (towards the side 417).

Thus, by means of the claws 7 with their hooked portions 8, the chain A is positively held by the eye-link and cannot possibly escape accidentally since to release it the link A, must be deliberately lifted ofi the hooks 8, realigned with the chain and, finally, slipped out of the eyelink.

In the drawing, the eye-link has been illustrated without any additional fixing means but it goes without saying that the larger portion 4a can be attached to a screwed rod or to a perforated plate, as already described with reference to and as illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2.

In the third embodiment of FIGURES 9 and 10, the part 4a receives a screwed rod 11 enabling it to be attached to a plate (not shown) with the aid of a nut 12. An elastic strip 14 is welded to the part 4a at 13, this strip being substantially of horseshoe shape and its ends extending around to the waisted portion 40. The total thickness H (FIGURE 9) of the eye-link and the strip 14- taken together, is slightly greater than the interval h (FIGURE 9) between the ends of two separate links in the chain, i.e. between two links disposed in the same manner and engaging in a common intervening link. With this arrangement, the locking of the chain in the narrow portion 412 is assured. To elfect locking, the chain is introduced into the larger loop 4a and slipped into the narrow portion 4b by passing the link A through the neck 40. The elastic strip 14 must deflect in the course of these operations to allow the passage of the two links A A, which are separated from. one another by the distance it which is less than the thickness H. In order to withdraw the chain, a similar force must be applied to depress the strip 14 so that it will be obvious that the chain A cannot possibly slip out of the eye-link accidentally.

Referring now to the fourth embodiment of FIGURES 11 and 12, it will be seen that here the eye-link is angled so that its narrower portion 4b is normal to its wider portion 4a whilst at or near the waisted portion 40, the eye-link is curved in a circular arc. Two washers 15 and 16 are welded to the sides of the eye-link.

The resultant construction constitutes a shackle which can be linked to the chain A by means of an ordinary bolt slipped through the washers 15 and 16. However,

its principal advantage resides in the fact that it may be used without any such bolt at all. What in fact happens is that the chain A is introduced into the larger loop 4a and then, as before, is slipped into the narrower portion 4b where the mutually perpendicular disposition of the adjacent links ensures that it is locked in place by the waisted portion. It will be seen that with this arrangement, the larger portion 4a is situated exactly in the line of extension of the similarly oriented links of the chain A; in other words any traction exerted on the eye-link is applied through the axis of the chain A. It is well known that the drawback of chains is their total lack of elasticity so that when used as a linking means chain-tighteners must be used to take up the inevitable slack. Attachment of these chain-tighteners to the ends of the chain maybe effected in various ways, all of which require a certain amount of time. Using the eye-link proposed in accordance with the invention, this drawback can be overcome.

Referring now to FIGURE 13, two identical eye-links will be seen the larger loops 4a of which are folded through 90 and equipped at the centre with a circular boss 17. These two eye-links are linked to one another by a bolt 18 which passes through a clearance hole in a boss 17 in one eye-link and screws into the threaded hole in the boss 17 carried by the other link.

The ends of the chain (or chains) are introduced into the portion 4a and then slid into the portion 2, as described earlier. When this has been done, it is merely necessary to tighten the bolt 18 to a greater or lesser extent in order to tension the chain as desired.

In FIGURE 14, the same elements are encountered as are portrayed in FIGURE 13 with the exception, however, that instead of a single boss 17 at the centre of each portion 4a, two bosses 19 are provided, one at each side. They are attached to their counterparts on the other link by two bolts 20. This arrangement offers the same advantages as the preceding one but is a stronger construction.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described and illustrated, rather it embraces all the possible variations on these. I

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An eye-link for securing a chain, comprising two different diameter loops, one of said loops being larger than the width of the links of a chain to be secured and the other of said loops being smaller than said width, a waisted portion connecting said two loops and defining a communicating gap therebetween having a width slightly greater than the thickness of the chain links, and two generally parallel claws having base parts extending substantially at right angles to said waisted portion at opposite sides of said gap and end parts directed from said waisted portion toward the smaller of said loops and being spaced from the plane of said smaller loops so that, when a link of a chain is situated in said smaller loop, a next adjacent link of the chain can receive said claws and abut against said base parts thereof.

2. An eye-link for securing a chain, comprising two different diameter loops, one of said loops being larger than the width of the links of a chain to be secured and the other'of said loops being smaller than said width, a waisted portion connecting said two loops and defining a communicating gap therebetween having a width slightly greater than the thickness of the chain links, and an elastic strip having substantially the same shape as the larger of said loops and secured thereto so as to normally be disposed in a plane parallel to the plane of said larger loop, the normal combined thickness of said strip and said larger loop being slightly greater than the largest interval permitted between two links of the chain by an intervening link connecting said two links so that, when said intervening link is disposed in the smaller of said loops, said strip yieldably resists withdrawal of said intervening link from said smaller loop into said larger loop through said gap therebetween.

3. An eye-link for securing a chain, comprising two different diameter loops, one of said loops being larger than the width of the links of a chain to be secured and the other of said loops being smaller than said width, a waisted portion connecting said two loops and defining a communicating gap therebetween having a width slightly greater than the thickness of the chain links, the larger of said loops being bent through degrees and having secured thereto at least one threaded boss for receiving a bolt by which said eye-link can be adjustably connected to another eye-link for varying the tension in chains secured to the two connected eye-links.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES ,PATENTS 661,941 11/1900 Sullivan 59--90 705,035 7/1902 Cass 59-93 770,584 9/1904 Hubbard 59-90 FOREIGN PATENTS 162,802 4/1958 Sweden.

CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner.

G. P. CROSBY, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN EYE-LINK FOR SECURING A CHAIN, COMPRISING TWO DIFFERENT DIAMETER LOOPS, ONE OF SAID LOOPS BEING LARGER THAN THE WIDTH OF THE LINKS OF A CHAIN TO BE SECURED AND THE OTHER OF SAID LOOPS BEING SMALLER THAN SAID WIDTH, A WAISTED PORTION CONNECTING SAID TWO LOOPS AND DEFINING A COMMUNICATING GAP THEREBETWEEN HAVING A WIDTH SLIGHTLY GREATER THAN THE THICKNESS OF THE CHAIN LINKS, AND TWO GENERALLY PARALLEL CLAWS HAVING BASE PARTS EXTENDING SUBSTANTINALLY AT RIGHT ANGLES TO SAID WAISTED PORTION AT OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID GAP AND END PARTS DIRECTED FROM SAID WAISTED PORTION TOWARD THE SMALLER OF SAID LOOPS AND BEING SPACED FROM THE PLANE OF SAID SMALLER LOOPS SO THAT, WHEN A LINK OF A CHAIN IS SITUATED IN SAID SMALLER LOOP, A NEXT ADJACENT LINK OF THE CHAIN CAN RECEIVE SAID CLAWS AND ABUT AGAINST SAID BASE PARTS THEREOF. 